XLS Padlock 2026.2 is now available
We have released XLS Padlock 2026.2, the second maintenance update of the 2026 line after 2026.1 in July. The headline item is a correctness fix: in applications built with 2026.0 or 2026.1, protected formulas that reference other cells could return a wrong but entirely believable result. That is repaired, along with a crash that had been around for a long time and a few code signing rough edges.
This is a free upgrade for anyone with active maintenance, and we encourage everyone to take it. Because most of these fixes sit in the runtime compiled into your application, they only reach your customers after you re-pack and redistribute your workbooks. Activation keys and offline license keys are unaffected, and your activation server and integration kits need no changes.
What changed in 2026.2
For members who are not yet familiar with the product:
XLS Padlock turns a Microsoft Excel workbook into a standalone Windows application (an EXE file). Your formulas and VBA code stay hidden and cannot be copied, and you get built-in licensing, activation, and trial management, so you can distribute or sell your spreadsheet solutions while keeping control over your work.
To upgrade, or to try it for the first time, download the latest version here:
Download XLS Padlock 2026.2
As always, your feedback is welcome. Tell us how the update behaves for you.
We have released XLS Padlock 2026.2, the second maintenance update of the 2026 line after 2026.1 in July. The headline item is a correctness fix: in applications built with 2026.0 or 2026.1, protected formulas that reference other cells could return a wrong but entirely believable result. That is repaired, along with a crash that had been around for a long time and a few code signing rough edges.
This is a free upgrade for anyone with active maintenance, and we encourage everyone to take it. Because most of these fixes sit in the runtime compiled into your application, they only reach your customers after you re-pack and redistribute your workbooks. Activation keys and offline license keys are unaffected, and your activation server and integration kits need no changes.
What changed in 2026.2
- Protected formulas recalculate in the right order: the compiled workbook had stopped telling Excel which cells a protected formula depends on, so results could be silently wrong. Dependency detection is sharper too, no longer tripping over function names containing digits, sheet names, table references or quoted text. If you had picked "No Dependency" on some cells under 2026.0 or 2026.1, that setting was not saved, so give those cells a quick look.
- No more sudden shutdown on a file dialog: on certain machines the application, and Excel with it, vanished without a message the moment a Windows file dialog appeared, such as the secure Save As or Insert > Pictures. It happened more often alongside security software. Fixed, and the secure save dialog is a normal Windows dialog again.
- The Automate tab stays hidden: with ribbons disabled and Office Scripts and Power Automate turned off, a nameless tab carrying Excel's Automate commands could still slip in next to File. It is hidden again, as it was before 2026.0.
- Exclude credentials for Azure Artifact Signing: when a credential type earlier in Azure's chain fails and kills the signing call before your az login session is ever used, you can now skip those types from the EXE Code Signing page, with a one-click "Exclude all except Azure CLI" preset. Two Designer fixes also land: the output folder marker is expanded everywhere in a SignTool command, and the PFX browse button works again after being broken since 2025.2.
- Better translations at runtime: the Web Update wizard now speaks the language of your protected application instead of English, and the Launcher welcome screen follows the Windows display language across all 10 supported languages.
For members who are not yet familiar with the product:
XLS Padlock turns a Microsoft Excel workbook into a standalone Windows application (an EXE file). Your formulas and VBA code stay hidden and cannot be copied, and you get built-in licensing, activation, and trial management, so you can distribute or sell your spreadsheet solutions while keeping control over your work.
To upgrade, or to try it for the first time, download the latest version here:Download XLS Padlock 2026.2
As always, your feedback is welcome. Tell us how the update behaves for you.